


all these places have their moments

by Nika_T



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Character Study, Fluff and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-09
Updated: 2016-09-09
Packaged: 2018-08-14 01:15:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7993255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nika_T/pseuds/Nika_T
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>5 people in Tony's life (plus one). <br/>The title comes from “In My Life” by the Beatles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	all these places have their moments

**5.**

One of the few memories Tony can recall about his father without getting bitter is the one about the first time Tony got inside Howard’s workshop.

He was five years old and bored out of his skull during his daily learning session. His tutor tried to get him to read about the adventures of some heroic dragon-slaying knight to improve Tony's reading comprehension, but Tony's heart was not really in it. He kept getting distracted, straining his hearing, hoping to catch the sound of something from The Secret Room downstairs. Tony called it The Secret Room mostly because he didn't know what was inside, since he's never been there before. (The 'No kids in the workshop' rule was strictly enforced in the Stark household, and at his pettiest, Tony can't help but think that the rule was designed to keep Howard from getting irritated, and it keeping Tony away from dangerous equipment was just a side bonus.) By then, Tony was bursting with curiosity. He kept thinking that there must be something fascinating inside for his father to keep disappearing into The Room, but all he could get were the occasional glimpses as the door was closing. And so on that day, unable to help himself anymore, Tony sneaked away from the tutor when she looked the other way and crept down the stairs. He was lucky - the door was slightly ajar, letting a thin strip of light fall on the hallway carpet. He tried to be really quiet, and he mostly succeeded. The door let out the faintest of squeaks before letting him in. Nervous but excited, Tony glanced around. As far as he could tell, there were no windows, but the space was brightly lit. He couldn't see much from his position near the door, but he did see a lot of shelves lining the walls, holding various metal parts and what Tony supposed were some of his dad's special tools, two cabinets with glass doors standing at the far wall, and an edge of a metal worktable. He didn't see his dad anywhere, though, and dared to move a little farther inside, which turned out to be a mistake, because right after he heard footsteps nearing and a voice calling out: "Maria? Is that you?"

Tony cringed a little. He must have accidentally made a sound that caught his father's attention. He scrambled for the door, not wanting to get in trouble, but it was too late by then.

"And what exactly do you think you're doing here, Anthony?" Uh-oh.

"Uhhh... Hi?" Tony turned around and started babbling. "I am sorry, I know I am not supposed to be here but I just, the door was open and I could see the lights on, you know, and I really wanted to see what this secret room looked like and what you do in here all the time 'cause you never let me get inside and I was so curious and my lesson was so boringandpleasedonotbeangryatme?" He stared up at his father miserably, fully expecting him to get mad and send Tony back out. To his disbelief, neither happened. Instead, Howard crouched down and stared Tony in the eyes for what felt like hours, almost sizing him up. Finally, he nodded to himself, and got up.

"This room," he said, "is called a workshop...."

They spent the whole day, just the two of them, in the workshop, the one and only time it happened, with Howard being uncharacteristically patient, holding his temper in check and explaining to Tony what each of the tools and instruments did and showing some of his finished projects. And it is not until years later, when Tony looks through the relics of his childhood for an impossible, that he finally, truly understands why, against all expectations, Howard didn't yell at him that day for creeping into the workshop and distracting him from work. There were plenty of times since, when Tony was yelled at for being nothing but a disappointment for Howard, but that first time? "You are my greatest creation." Tony understands that in that moment, Howard saw Tony not as a son wanting his father's attention, but as a potential for future legacy.

He is not sure if it still hurts.

 

**4.**

In November, five months after the whole Battle of New York mess, Tony leaves the Avengers Tower for the whole day, trusting Pepper and his team to deal with any emergencies. He does it every other year, so Pepper is not surprised when she sees him walk into the kitchen early in the morning that day, showered and dressed in the nicer clothes than he normally wears around the house. Although they split up, she is still living in the Tower with the Avengers. Ostensibly, it’s for practical reasons, like commuting to the SI headquarters, but everyone knows what this is really about. The Tower is the most secure building in New York City, and Tony feels better knowing she is protected at all times.

Bruce is in the kitchen as well, although it seems he is not entirely awake just yet.

“Mornin’, Tony,” he looks up at Tony blearily and blinks, commenting, “You look nice.”

There is a silent question in Bruce’s eyes, but Tony doesn’t say anything to address his curiosity. There are not many things he doesn’t share with his team, but this part of his life he wants to keep to himself just for a little while longer. Call him selfish, it wouldn’t be the first time.

“Did you stay up late in the lab again?” Tony asks Bruce instead, hoping to divert his attention. And it works, mostly: Bruce gets distracted talking about his latest project, something to do with biochemical composition of Asgardian flora samples, courtesy of Thor.

"Are you leaving already?" Pepper asks quietly, not looking away from her tablet. From what Tony can see, she is reading through the news feed, already dressed for work, a cup of coffee and some toast sitting by her elbow on the table. Waiting for Happy to pick her up, Tony thinks absently, going for the coffeemaker to pour his own cup. He wonders if there is anything in particular Pepper has to take care of at the firm today, or it's just business as usual, in which case him dropping off the grid shouldn't cause her any complications. Well, he amends, no more than usual, although---

"Tony?"

"Hmm?" Oh, he never responded to Pepper, right. "Sorry, yeah, I'm going soon."

"Don't forget to pick up the flowers."

Tony nods to Pepper in response – he remembers. He drains the last of his coffee and puts his mug down. It’s almost time, and he doesn’t want to be late, not today. He says goodbye and goes down to the garage and drives out to Brooklyn, making exactly one stop along the way at the flower shop to pick up a pre-ordered arrangement, just like Pepper reminded him. While he drives, Tony randomly thinks of the time when he was in third grade and really, really sick. He remembers feeling restless and miserable, not able to get comfortable no matter what he does, his head aching and his skin being too hot to the touch, wishing that his parents were here to make it better. But they never were there for him in moments like this. Instead, there was Jarvis, with his impeccable manners and crisp British accent, quietly taking care of the Starks, taking care of Tony. What he remembers is Jarvis nursing him through the worst of his fever, carefully mopping the sweat off his forehead and whispering to him: "Calm yourself, Tony, you'll feel better soon." In the morning, Tony indeed felt a lot better as his fever broke during the night, and Jarvis made him some toast and a cup of honeyed tea with lemon, quietly smiling to himself as Tony ate. Tony also recalls Jarvis took him out to the gardens after breakfast, pointing out the flowers and what each one symbolized, because _some fresh air will be good for you, Tony, don’t pout_ , _it’s unbecoming for such a young gentleman like yourself_.

The traffic is not terrible, so Tony is able to arrive to his point of destination by early afternoon. He parks in front of a small yellow-brick building with a sign painted in blue and white that reads "Kensington Community for the Elderly", and just sits for a while, taking in the familiar sights. Finally, he climbs out of the car, flowers in hand. The weather is cool and crisp, just beginning to creep into early December chill. Tony walks through the entrance, unhurried, nodding to the reception girl, the familiarity of the place making him feel peaceful and relaxed. He takes the elevator up to the third floor, and lightly knocks on the second door to his left. While he waits for a response, he looks at the bouquet in his hands.

Camellias. Pink carnations. Heathers. Irises.

Tony was always bad with words, and even worse with people, but he can be occasionally good with gestures, when he really puts effort in it. When he hears a familiar voice calling him to come in, he enters.

"Hello, Tony. You are right on time. Fancy a cup of tea?"

Tony feels a smile tugging at his lips. Jarvis was the first one in the Stark household to call him Tony, as he asked, and not Anthony, which Tony even then thought sounded stuffy and pretentious, and hearing his name in that accent never fails to remind him of that small detail.

"Hello, Jarvis." He holds out the bouquet a bit awkwardly. So many years of this, and he still can’t learn. "Happy Birthday. And tea would be perfect, thank you."

Jarvis smiles back warmly, knowingly, just like he always does.

“So tell me, young man, how’ve you been?”

 

**3.**

Like all good things in Tony's life, Rhodey is entirely unexpected.

Tony is sixteen, fresh out of school and about to start college. MIT campus is big and beautiful, everything he imagined it to be and more, but Tony is stupidly, irrationally scared of it, although he would never admit it out loud. He thinks that being away from home shouldn't be new to him, after all the time he spent at a boarding school, but this feels different. Even so, Tony takes a deep breath and squares his shoulders, putting his game face on. He is a Stark, and Starks can't show weakness. He starts moving towards the engineering building when he hears someone calling out to him from behind. Tony stops and turns around, spotting a tall guy in a yellow hoodie and a backpack walking quickly in his direction.

"Hi man, sorry, you are here for the orientation, right? I got lost a little. Please say you are going to the Lowell building too?" The guy talks fast and energetic, waving his arms around and smiling. _He looks nice enough_ , Tony thinks to himself. More importantly, he doesn't seem to look down at Tony because of his age at all, which. Huh. _Interesting._

The guy's grin starts to falter a little, though - Tony's been silent for too long. Panicked, he sticks out his hand and blurts out: "Tony. That is, my name is Tony, and Lowell building is not that far away actually, it's kinda ugly and hard to miss but we can walk together? If you want?" He cringes internally. What a way to make a first impression. But the guy laughs, easy, and shakes Tony's hand.

"James Rhodes, pleasure to meet you."

(Much, much later, Tony learns that on that day? Rhodey knew perfectly well where the Lowell building was located, sneaky bastard. He tells Rhodey as much, but secretly? Secretly he thinks War Machine is due for another upgrade.)

 

**2.**

In his first year as the CEO of Stark Industries, Tony goes through more personal assistants than he cares to admit. The press, predictably, spins it as him being a womanizer and a playboy, and sometimes, Tony wishes it would be true. The reality is far more prosaic, and, on some level, depressing: none of those damn Barbie dolls Obadiah sends his way can keep up with his lifestyle, erratic unpredictable hours and all. What Tony needs right now to not completely go insane is someone reliable, someone to take care of the mundane little details because Tony sure as hell is not going to be able to, not someone who just wants to jump in his bed. Completely fed up one day with yet another incompetent assistant, Tony sends the girl away and calls down to HR for a temp, figuring that he'll get another disaster on his hands, but what the hell, he thinks as he dials, it is not like they can get any worse. Besides, he needs his coffee.

What he gets is one Virginia Potts (a new hire that started working at SI three weeks ago, but Tony doesn’t know that yet). By the end of the work day, Tony is both terrified by her and feels like he is in love. He takes her in as his personal assistant on the spot. If Virginia ( _you can call me Pepper_ ) is surprised, she hides it well.

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" she asks him, calm and collected, but he can see the corners of her eyes crinkling in slight amusement.

_This_ , Tony thinks to himself,  _this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship_.

"That will be all, Miss Potts."

 

**1.**

When Tony first learned that the search crew has finally found Captain America, frozen solid in the ice, he couldn't quite keep his excitement in check. He was finally going to meet the man he heard so much about from Aunt Peggy. From his father, as well, but that's something Tony prefers not to think about if he can help it. Aunt Peggy's stories about Steve were cool while Howard kept finding ways in which Tony was lacking in comparison. Still, Tony was admittedly curious: there must have been something pretty special about Steve Rogers.

They meet.

As far as first impressions go, Tony's is pretty straightforward: Captain America is a fucking douchebag. He kept thinking to himself ‘ _That’s the guy_ _my dad never_ _shut up about_ _? Really?’_ Tony was disappointed, and then he was pissed off because it just fucking figured that Captain America would treat them as nothing more but soldiers. But Coulson’s death had to count for something, so Tony pulled himself together and fought aliens with that disaster of a team, to which he technically didn’t even belong at the time, now did he? But he kept it together. He flew into space with a nuke on his back. He survived, and then he went straight home, figuring there is not much else he could do.

He expected the call for debrief. What, or rather who, he didn’t expect was Steve Rogers standing on his doorstep, delivering that invitation in person along with awkwardly phrased apologies. Tony was surprised enough to let him in. They ended up talking all night.

(If you are to ask Tony now how Steve became a permanent fixture in his life, he’ll promptly say that it all went downhill from that conversation. Steve is not amused.)

 

**+1**

_"Welcome home, sir."_

_"Thank you kindly, J.A.R.V.I.S."_

_"It's been a long time. Based on news reports, I calculated your safe return at 0.25%"_

_"Yeah, I missed you too."_

**_Iron Man 1, Deleted Scene_ **

 

One can notice that a lot of people who don’t know Tony really well say that he loves his machines more than he does people. One can also notice that Tony is in no hurry to disabuse them of this notion, because, well, it’s the truth (as long as by ‘people’ these assholes mean themselves).

After Afghanistan, Tony develops a ritual for when he is away from home for too long. Every time he comes back from a business trip or a particularly brutal fight, he is greeted by a soft ''Welcome home, sir" and then, just as soft, he replies: "Hey, Jay. It's good to be home."

This? This means that no matter what happens, there is always going to be someone anxiously waiting for Tony to return. Unlike people, his ‘machines’ can never betray him.

The others never see it, but that's okay with Tony. Some things are better kept private.

_fin_

**Author's Note:**

> Credits to missbecky for the idea that Edwin Jarvis was living in a retirement home and that he was the only one who ever called Tony ‘Tony’, not ‘Anthony’.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
